Sulaiman was caught in a crush of public scorn when he said beating a woman is no big deal, while sucking up to Floyd Mayweather. On Wednesday, he offered an apology of sorts, blaming a language barrier. (Hogan)

On Wednesday afternoon, I called for a retraction from Jose Sulaiman, or a resignation. A few hours later, a clarification from WBC president Sulaiman was distributed to fightwriters, in an attempt to clean up the mess left by his offensive, ignorant remarks about domestic violence.

A few days ago, Sulaiman was asked about Floyd Mayweather's impending jail stint, following his sentencing for a domestic altercation which occurred in September 2010. The sanctioning body chief seemed to go out of his way to defend the WBC welterweight champion, Floyd Mayweather, and stated that in his eyes, hitting a woman is no big deal.

For a regular joe, hitting a woman is a reprehensible act, and for a boxer, probably even more so, because a fighter, a person being attacked knows, can do serious damage with their bare fists.

Sulaiman was quoted on Tuesday by Ronnie Nathanielsz on Boxing Scene saying, that “beating a lady is highly critical, [but] it is not a major sin or crime.” Some wondered if the Spanish-speaking Sulaiman was misquoted, or something was garbled in translation. Early on Wednesday, I expressed the hope that this was so, and opined that if he didn't clarify or retract his statement, which is not defensible, he should resign his post.

A couple hours later, after I reached out to a Sulaiman representative, and sent along some questions for the leader, he did indeed release a statement of “clarification.” The jury of me is still out on whether this absolves Sulaiman in the matter. Frankly, I find it hard to see how his true feelings were misrepresented so handily.

Here is the Sulaiman “clarification” statement, which you'll notice is sealed with a big ole wet kiss to WBC champ Mayweather. Yuck..

“I would like to clarify my feelings about some recent comments of mine, and apologize for not finding the right words in English – there are many times when I cannot find the right words to express what I really mean. The comments attributed to me are a complete misrepresentation of my true feelings.

“I am a devoted husband and father of two daughters, and have three wonderful granddaughters, as well. The Virgin of Guadalupe is my superior saint. I am the person that developed female boxing, and I am the person in the WBC that has always been concerned with the protection of women in the ring. I have always been a strong supporter of women’s rights and the protection of women in society. Those are the facts – everybody knows me.

“In my comments, I just meant to say that I have always been in the corner of all the boxers of the world. They are my greatest heroes and, good or bad, I will always be in their corner.

“I know Floyd Mayweather personally, and I know that he’s a good person. I know that he accepted a plea deal for a serious offense, and I did not intend to make light of that. The judge sentenced him to 90 days, which I think is fair. But I know that Floyd is a good human being with a good heart, and I am confident that he will redeem himself with his actions in the future.

“I just wanted Floyd to know that the WBC will always stay strongly in his corner.”

Readers, maybe I made too big a deal of the remark. But I just chatted with Sergio Martinez last week for a long spell after he visited two domestic violence shelters in NYC. The subject was fresh on my mind. I like to see boxing represented by decent souls, and when I can, like to encourage people to act the right way. Feel free to weigh in on the matter, in our Forum.

COMMENTS

dino da vinci :

You certainly DID NOT make too big a deal of the remark. No man should ever lay a hand on a woman, and some may say that is especially true for fighters. They are trained to inflict damage on another man who is in turn trained not to let that happen. And for those of you that say the woman is the problem, be a real man and walk away. Leave. Hitting is never an option.

mortcola :

You certainly DID NOT make too big a deal of the remark. No man should ever lay a hand on a woman, and some may say that is especially true for fighters. They are trained to inflict damage on another man who is in turn trained not to let that happen. And for those of you that say the woman is the problem, be a real man and walk away. Leave. Hitting is never an option.

Perfect comments.

MisterLee :

Down goes Sulaiman on the perfect right hand counter from Clinton... I mean Michael Woods... he now has the interim, Champion-in-rest, intercontinental Super Belt!

MisterLee :

But he'll need to battle the Regular Champion for the championship...

Fe'Roz :

I think you are being a bit hard on Don Jose, Mike. He did after all refer to Josie Harris, the mother of Floyd's children, as a 'lady".
Now I think the man is despicable but you have to admit, his ability to use the words 'treat' and 'lady' in one sentence; albeit one designed to absolve/support Floyd Mayweather's actions is downright Deadwood.

JOe Dwyer :

I know Jose Sulaiman personally and know his utter respect for women. WBC Cares is active in supporting those who have suffered from domestic abuse and was formed and fully supported by Jose Sulaiman. His statements in defending Floyd Mayweather was not meant to excuse any alleged wrongful actions which were reported to have occurred. Having spent a career in Law Enforcement I am fully aware of the devestating effect that domestic abuse has not only on battered spouses but also the children of these unions. I would not have replied to this article had I not known the respect and admiration Sulaiman has for all women.
Joe Dwyer

dino da vinci :

Joe, thank you for your response.

Radam G :

@Joe, all who know da Don J Sulaiman know that he was being hyperbolic. Those who don't know him were just asking. You know, making sure he was slipping over the deep end.
We know that old farts spit jive on da fly and forget about the nowadays political correct world. Sometimes even a youngest arse like I have to bit the syet outta my lips to keep from my darn snake-a$$ tongue from bitingly causing ___ ____ and ____! Holla!

the Roast :

I think we can all agree that it is wrong to hit a woman. I want to know if it's ok to flip the kitchen table when the little lady overcooks your steak, cuz you can't cook it too long, that makes it taste like leather.

dino da vinci :

@Roast. Yes, absolutely. There are only three or four acceptable reasons for tipping a table over, and it must also be in conjunction with one other offense. I do recall burning the steak beyond recognition as one of those reasons deemed acceptable. Now, if you want to toss a chair right after the table flipping, or better yet, after the dramatic pause, you must be able to justify one additional offense. For a second or third chair, no additional offenses are required, it then reverts to the intensity of the offense. Not mentioned, but certainly globally practiced in the pre table flipping ritual is the tossing the plate containing the offending meat a la Dante Pastorini trying to find Billy "White Shoes" Johnson coming across the middle with both the game and the spread on the line. (Of course if you're left-handed, think Kenny Stabler). Also, it's probably best to plan ahead exactly where you will one day toss it. Not something you're going to want to have to think about with all the other things going on. (i.e. Table flipping, multiple offenses, severity of offenses, degree of difficulty of trying to keep that little charcoal looking thing on the plate until it makes contact with the wall). Nobody said it was easy being a real man, Roast. Lastly, there is the added problem if you happen to be Latin. For consistency sake, even if you happen to get caught off-guard and you're just not in a table flipping, chair tossing mode, you may be forced to go through the motions lest you lose precious terrain in your relationship. Hope I added some clarity.

the Roast :

@Dino, I am not left handed but I can't think of Snake Stabler without thinking of Dave Casper, Fred Belitnikof, and Cliff Branch. Thanks for the clarity, I was hearing some things about you, I dont know, some things, I gotta go, I gotta pour some ice water down my pants...